"Would you tell us how you started here?" - one of the most common questions we get from all our clients.

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So we decided to do a multi-week series called Back to the Past. We start with a chat with Mirka, a now married lady (it's probably unnecessary to ask where the wedding took place :-)) and a mother of an eight-month-old baby who remembers our Farmhouse in the very beginning.

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How did you get to Všetice?

You could say that I have been connected with Všetice since I was born - it's been 40 years since my parents bought a half-dilapidated little house in Všetice, right across from the farmhouse. Mainly thanks to my dad's skills, this little house was turned into a fully habitable house and we could spend weekends and holidays here. So I have known Všetice all my life - more than 30 years.

And what was your journey to the Farmhouse like?

I came directly to the Farmhouse in July 2000, when the Burds moved out of Všetice, where I started with horses when I was 10 years old. My parents didn't like the fact that they had to drive me to the horses almost 15 kilometres to Krchleby, where the Burds had moved. But they offered that I could start riding at the Malaks' place - the farmhouse was literally a few meters from my cottage, so there was nothing to solve.

And do you remember your first day?

I remember! I walked into the barn and there was no one there. After a while, I ran into the manager, who told me practically immediately that I was on call. The nurse was off that day, so I got right in the groom's office. I then spent the whole holiday at the Farm and it was clear that there was no going back. From then on, I spent every free moment there - my parents didn't enjoy me much, I only came home to eat and sleep.
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Now that you mentioned horses, I wonder if we can find one of the original horses that you took care of on your very first day at the Farm...

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Oh, yeah! Quitty, for instance - now in his early thirties, a cold-blooded cross. God's beast, a huge horse with a head of his own.

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I also remember Kviti at his best, and it's true that when he decided to go somewhere, he just went...

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Yep, when the forging was going on, it was enough for Kviti to see an anvil in the stable aisle and instead of stopping, he kept going - and stopping almost a ton of live weight just wasn't possible, so I was hanging on the end of the lead and maybe three other people I picked up along the way. But we still didn't stop the blossom.

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I can imagine it vividly, I think I hung on that leash a few times too. One last thing I'm wondering today - when you started here, how did it work? I guess weddings and corporate events were out of the question back then. I suppose it was just a pleasure stable at the time, and few would have guessed at the time how the Farmhouse would change in 20 years...
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Sure, the grounds that stand here today were out of the question. No hotel, no restaurant. It's true that there was an "old pub", but it wasn't open to the public and only functioned as a clubhouse.

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I remember that when I started here, Vláďa (one of the owners of the Farm) had a fresh riding license. I think that in 2000 he had his first showjumping, so it was getting a little bit towards sport, but you can say that it was still mainly a recreational stable, none of the horses were really sport horses. At that time he was trained by Míra Vávra from Chrášt'any, Honza Pilecký used to come here and the really sporting era started with the arrival of Petr Perníček.

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And how did it go on? You can read about it in the next part.

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